Sprawl, road-funds link gathers steam
Monday, November 24, 2003
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The Maine
Department of Transportation made good on a threat last summer when it cut
funding for a Scarborough road project after residents opposed a housing plan
designed to curb problems attributed to sprawl.
Some
residents said the state tried to bully the town into approving almost 400 new
units of housing clustered in a dense neighborhood. Others accused the
department of taking sides in a battle between neighbors and developers.
Whatever
the case, the DOT has made no money available for the Route 1 improvement
project since voters rejected the development by a nearly 4 to 1 margin in
July.
The idea
of reserving road money for projects that satisfy an anti-sprawl philosophy
could become the norm from Biddeford to Freeport.
State,
regional and local planners in Greater Portland are working on what they
consider to be an anti-sprawl policy. It would require cities and towns to take
steps locally to address traffic congestion, large-lot subdivisions and the
spread of development to the edges of Greater Portland, if they want federal
and state money for major road projects.
"This
is the introduction of a major change," said Kathy Fuller, assistant
director of planning for the Maine Department of Transportation.
The
anti-sprawl proposal, which is being described as both progressive and
controversial, would put a new condition on millions of dollars for road
projects towns and cities compete for annually. It is one of the first attempts
nationally to link the expansion of roads with the additional houses, businesses
and traffic they create. And if it succeeds in southern Maine, other regions or
even the whole state could adopt similar practices, transportation officials
say.
"It
is definitely a trend. But there is definitely a smaller vanguard that is
making headway on it," said David Goldberg, communications director for a
national anti-sprawl group, Smart Growth America.
Since it
was first discussed last fall, municipal planners and officials from the Maine
Turnpike Authority, Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Study committee,
known as PACTS, and the DOT have struggled to turn the concept into an
enforceable policy.
So far,
planners want to require that municipalities address traffic congestion and the
spread of housing and commercial development through a combination of local
changes, which include revisions to zoning regulations, capital improvement
plans and business incentive programs. Also, the policy would affect only major
projects such as the widening of Interstate-295. It would not apply to road
repairs or projects in which public safety is at risk.
Those
working on the issue plan to take a final draft later this year to elected
officials and city and town managers in PACTS' 15 member communities. This will
open a debate over home rule and whether traffic congestion has gotten to a
point where this policy, which some describe as "aggressive," is
needed. Planners concede they will face opposition, since so-called smart
growth developments, which favor denser housing developments around existing
downtowns, have had limited success in southern Maine.
"I
think it is going to be a tough one to sell," said John Duncan, executive
director of PACTS.
The case
those writing the anti-sprawl policy will make focuses on costs and past
mistakes. They explain that if growth is planned at the same time as new roads,
then in 10 or 15 years the DOT and municipalities won't have to go back and
again spend millions of dollars to widen roads.
Fuller
also points to projects such as a road built to bypass downtown Westbrook. This
route has caused traffic to go around Westbrook and funneled more cars into
Gorham and beyond. This has led the DOT to plan a route around the center of
Gorham to relieve traffic back-ups there.
The
discussion that planners in Greater Portland are having is happening in cities
across the United States with limited success, according to national
organizations tracking anti-sprawl reforms.
The PACTS
policy committee plans to decide by May on the anti-sprawl policy. The
committee, which is made up of city and town managers and state and regional
officials, told planners last month to continue working on the policy.
But Michael McGovern, Cape Elizabeth's town manager
and vice chairman of the PACTS committee, says the policy's details will
determine whether towns and cities give it final approval.
Staff Writer Mark Peters can be contacted at
791-6325 or at: mpeters@pressherald.com